


The Connecting Flight

by Docks33



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, I'm thinking Chapter 5, Nicole is a pilot, Slow Burn, Some Sex, Some angst, Waverly's with someone else at first, WayHaught end game, don't worry it doesn't last forever, tags might get updated as we go along, the mature content is going to come later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-14 18:03:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16497557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Docks33/pseuds/Docks33
Summary: When there's a connection so strong it can't be ignored, can a spark be stifled before their hearts are set on fire?Or, the one where Nicole is an airline pilot and Waverly's married.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this story came to me because I was sick of seeing Waverly start off with Champ. It also doesn't hurt to fantasize over Nicole in a pilots uniform. Also because I like angst and I like the struggle. But never fear because Wayhaught is always end game.

Nicole slipped her hat back on her head and grabbed the well-used, compact carry-on from the security belt. Pulling her shoes out of the plastic tray and kneeling down to fasten the laces she couldn't stop herself from letting out a sleep-deprived yawn. She hadn't exactly planned to work an overnight double but since nothing specific was keeping her in Vancouver anyways, she figured she might at well help a coworker out. Dolls had called her just an hour after she'd arrived at her hotel, hoping she'd be able to cover his next flight. They weren't exactly on great terms, but he sounded sick as a dog and her sympathy got the best of her so here she was. Back at the airport at 6 a.m. on a Tuesday.

Finishing with her laces, Nicole stood to her full height, pulling out her phone and opening the schedule Dolls had texted to her.

YVR to YYZ  
Departing 6:54 a.m.  
Terminal D  
Gate -

Her reading was cut short by the sound of a woman's voice.

"Excuse me? Can you tell me which way to Gate C30? I feel like I just went in a complete circle!"

Nicole looked up from her schedule, making eye contact with the petite brunette who stood directly in front of her. Her wavy hair fell well past slender shoulders, covered by a slouchy grey cardigan over a simple burgundy v-neck and paired with blue jeans. 

Nicole caught herself looking and pulled her eyes back down to her schedule, then back up to the woman in front of her, smirking at the coincidence.

"6:54 flight to Toronto?"

"Yeah! How did you -"

"That's my flight... I'm covering it for a coworker."

The smaller woman stopped for a moment, finally taking a moment to appreciate the Captain's hat, epaulets, and winged badge. Nicole felt hazel eyes run up and down her body, suppressing a shiver as she waited for the woman's response.

"You're flying my plane?" There was a hint of surprise laced with more admiration than what normally accompanies the realization of her status.

"Actually I like to look at it as my plane." Nicole's dimpled smile had made itself present, "But either way I can take you for a ride." The redhead internally groaned at the sad attempt at flirting, but didn't let her hesitance show, adding a wink to her thousand-watt smile.

The corny one-liner was met with a flirtatious eye-roll and a shy smile.

The redhead put out her hand. "I'm Nicole, by the way. Nicole Haught."

Immediately the woman felt a smaller hand slip into hers, heat emanating from her touch, beginning at her fingertips and rushing up her arm. The sensation was almost enough to give her the chills.

Nicole's eyes were drawn to the connection of their hands, only looking up at the realization she had yet to learn the woman's name. The brunette's eyes were downcast and Nicole thought she saw a hint of blush in the woman's cheeks.

"And you are...?" She prompted teasingly.

"Oh! R-Right! I'm- Hi, I'm Waverly." The woman blushed, unable to hide her embarrassment at having stuttered through her introduction.

"Waverly." Nicole couldn't help letting her name slip off her tongue, tasting every delicious syllable. "Do you have a last name to go with that?"

"It's Davis."

Both heads turned to follow the sound of the voice and suddenly Waverly's hand had slipped from hers and a tall blond woman was approaching, wrapping her left arm around Waverly as she put her right out to shake Nicole's.

"And I'm Jenn, Waverly's wife. Pleasure to meet you Cap'n."

Nicole hoped her surprise at the situation didn't come through in her expression. She has most definitely been flirting with this woman's wife, and hadn't even considered she was in a relationship.

No wonder Waverly seemed so flustered. Yet, she hadn't said anything to dissuade her comments... Then again, maybe she was just being polite... 

Nicole brought her thoughts back to the moment and reached over to shake the blonde's hand. She stood just an inch or so shorter than Nicole with ringlets in her long hair. Their handshake is brief, abrupt almost as Jenn drops Nicole's hand to turn to her wife. "Were you able to figure out where our gate is, sweetie?"

"Uh, y-yeah. Captain Haught here -"

"- Nicole -" The redhead cut in,

"- Nicole," She corrected, "was just telling me she's uh, she's going to be flying our plane today. So I guess we can just, um, follow her to the gate?" Turning to Nicole she added, "If that's alright?" Waverly looked hopefully over at Nicole, that shy smile still evident in her eyes.

"Certainly." Nicole had fallen into her professional Captain's voice. "If you two ladies would be so kind as to follow me, I'll take you straight there." 

Nicole didn't wait for an answer as she turned on her heel and began the long walk through the Vancouver airport, with the most beautiful, most unavailable woman she'd ever met just a few steps behind.

...

"I'll be right back, hun. Washroom." Jenn leaned over her empty seat to place a small kiss on Waverly's cheek before making her way to the rear of the plane. 

Waverly smiled before replacing her headphones and turning the volume of the in-flight classical music channel up a few notches. She sighed, drawing her gaze out through the small oval window as she contemplated the encounter she'd had with Captain Haught just before the flight. Nicole. There was just something about that woman Waverly could not put out of her head. 

And then quite literally, Nicole's voice was in her head as the in-flight music cut to an announcement; 

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are beginning our decent into Toronto at this time, please make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position with seat belts fastened. Local time is 2:23 p.m. Cloudy at approximately 13 degrees Celsius.”

Waverly pulled the ear buds out, stuffing them in her laptop case and trying to remove the mental image of those dimples from her mind.

...

As the wheels of the plane hit the ground, Waverly jumped, waking from a dream where a particular redhead was telling her -

"Please remain seated with your seat belt fastened until we have reached the gate. 

On behalf of Air Canada, I’d like to thank you for joining us and we look forward to seeing you on board again in the future. Have a nice stay!”

"Oh good, you're up. I was worried I was going to have to carry you out of here." 

Waverly smiled sleepily, reaching out to give her wife's hand a small squeeze. Just a few more minutes and she will be off this plane and out of the airport and back to her real life where there aren't any redheads in uniforms making her head spin.

The plane took its time meandering through the large expanse of concrete and up to the gate but eventually the doors opens and passengers began making their way to the exit. 

The two woman stood, grabbing their bags and heading to the door, Jenn in front, and Waverly behind. Waverly heard before she saw the voice of the captain, once again, speaking to the passengers are they departed.

"Thank you for coming. Enjoy your stay. Safe travels."

And then she was there, standing in front of her, placing her hand in Waverly's once again, absorbing hazel eyes with her own and saying, "I hope you enjoyed your flight."

But Waverly couldn't focus on what had just been said to her because within their handshake a small folded paper had been transferred from one palm to the other.

Waverly retracted her hand quickly, stuffing the paper into the pocket of her jeans before stuttering out, "Um, uh, yeah. I- it...you too!"

And then she was stepping over the threshold, heart racing, and curiosity flooding her mind over a tiny piece of paper burning a hole through her jeans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first multi-chapter fic ever so please be gentle. Also questions/comments are much appreciated!
> 
> Thank you for reading!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for such a positive initial response to this story!
> 
> This chapter gives a little insight into our ladies and we might even find out what was in that note!
> 
> Also I was originally thinking I'd get these chapters out weekly but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting too long. So let's say every Monday and Friday for now (or at the very least, once a week!).

Nicole watched the tennis ball fall back down towards her before snatching it out of the air. Relinquishing a sigh, she sat up and turned to let her legs hang off the side of the bed. She threw the ball against the wall a few times for extra measure, letting it ricochet from the wall to the floor before returning to her waiting hand.

Glancing at her phone for the hundredth time over the last 2 days hadn't seemed to make a difference so she threw on a change of clothes and decided to head down to the gym, leaving her cell sitting on her night side table and plugged into the charger.

Nicole's condo had served her well over the last 5 years. She'd bought it a year into her career after realizing that cutting grass and shoveling the driveway wasn't always doable when being an airline pilot often keeps you away from home more often than not. With 4 days on, 3 days off she was actually sleeping in hotels more than her own bed anyways. Might as well keep it as low maintenance as possible. At least that's what she told people to explain the lack of pictures on the walls.

Grabbing her keys from the tray at the front and locking the door, Nicole took the stairs from the main floor where her unit resided, down to the basement where the fitness room was located. 

Nicole stepped on the treadmill and set it at a medium pace, opting to do a light warm-up before hitting the much preferred free weights. Shaking her head in frustration, Nicole put her ear buds in, selected the workout playlist on her phone and hit shuffle. She was trying hard not to overthink the note she gave Waverly. She was sure she wasn't the only one who felt a connection. There was some tangible feeling they both shared, and she just couldn't let her walk away without... without what? Hope. And that's exactly what she'd done since the second that paper left her hand and was slipped into Waverly's tiny jean pocket. Hope.

She hadn't had much time to overthink it during the flight because she was working, so at the very last minute, as passengers began to depart, she didn't hesitate as she scribbled her brief but concise message. But now, with a few days since their last encounter, Nicole had had more than enough time to second-guess herself, second-guess the looks Waverly gave her, the way her touch lingered, and the way she stuttered when she was flustered...

Nicole cranked the music up as she stepped off the treadmill and laid down on the bench. Wrapping her hands around the dumbbell and beginning her first set of bench presses, Nicole let the twangy guitar and grungy voice of Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer wash away her conflicting thoughts.

...

Waverly leaned back in her chair, lifting her arms above her head to let the stretch travel from between her shoulder blades down to the small of her back. The op-ed she was working on wasn't going so well and she needed to have it submitted by noon the next day. Normally when she was writing pieces on environmental or political issues, her writing flowed a lot smoother, but for some reason she'd been requested to do a fashion piece, which she really couldn't care less about. Unless of course you're talking about a certain redhead in a certain pilot’s uniform... 

Waverly shook the thought from her head before her mind began wandering, grabbed her cup of coffee off the desk, and peered through the doorway of her small home office, over to the living room where her wife was grading papers. 

Waverly had met Jenn shortly after she'd moved from the States to teach at the University of Toronto. At the time, Waverly had been hired on for a term to do a column for The Varsity, the University's newspaper. But Jenn had only been able to secure a short-term working visa with no eligibility of extension, so after only 18 months her time in Canada was set to expire. 

Looking back, Waverly could admit to herself that it was irrational to get married after just over a year of dating, but the marriage came with a green card which secured Jenn's ability to keep working and living in Canada. At the time, Waverly really felt like she could see a future with her. And things were really great for a while. Waverly hated to think it, but things had slowly started to change after their unceremonious wedding at City Hall.

At first it wasn't really a big deal. Jenn would make plans for the both of them without asking Waverly in advance. A bit annoying at times, but not the end of the world. But after a while it really started to feel disrespectful. Then one night she walked into the bedroom to change for a date Jenn had arranged and saw clothes laying out on the bed. A friendly suggestion, Jenn had said, on what might be nice for her to wear. But then there were some less subtle things. Criticism on her looks on nights Waverly chose to disregard Jenn's suggestions and wear her own thing. Waverly wasn't sure exactly when this controlling behaviour started but she worried it was getting worse.

Waverly set down her half-empty mug, having already been cold for a good while, and stood up from her desk, walking away from her half-finished assignment and over to the open door grabbing the handle and leaning out just a bit.

“I just need a little quiet, Jenn.” Waverly motioned to the television currently playing Family Guy reruns at an unheard of volume. “This article is killing me.”

Jenn nodded her response so Waverly swung the door shut and returned to her chair, where she picked up a pen and began to fiddle. Unfortunately the quiet was not enough to bring her focus back to the paper, only seeming to amplify her growing concerns regarding her marriage.

Waverly had tried to confront Jenn once on how controlling she'd become. Jenn immediately tried to turn the tables, saying she was only controlling because Waverly was a liar and a slut. The verbal and emotional abuse was quickly chipping away at Waverly's resolve to keep trying in this relationship. 

The second time she tried to confront her behaviour, Jenn raised a hand to her. In that moment, it could have all been over for them. It would have been if Waverly had just stood her ground and refused to be put down. Instead though, she succumbed to the manipulation. She buckled. Apologized for being a liar and a bitch and whatever else Jenn had called her that night. It made her sick to her stomach thinking about it. 

And then there was the time Jenn exploded in a fit of anger for not immediately returning her phone calls one night. Ever since then, Waverly had been doing her best to pull away and resist playing into this dynamic of being controlled.

And maybe it was that thought, the idea that nobody owns her, that she's her own goddamn person, which caused her to smooth out the crumpled up note she'd tucked in the pocket of her laptop case and reread once again the 10 little digits scratched in blue ink.

416-979-5686

Waverly took a deep breath as she reached for her phone, entered the number, typed her message, and waited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> As always, your responses mean so much to me and any kudos and/or comments you are willing to contribute are very much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here it is folks! Thanks for the continued support.

Nicole was just stepping out of the shower when she heard the ping of her phone in the other room.

 

_ No way that’s her, Haught. Don’t get too excited. _

 

But curiosity was gnawing at her like an itch that needed to be scratched so she threw a towel over her wet red locks and pulled a cotton tee over her head as she skirted down the hall and snagged her phone off the table where she’d left it. 

 

Nicole slid her finger across the screen, unlocking it and letting herself get excited over the small ‘1’ sitting above her Messages icon.

 

[416-918-6132]   _ Nothing but your number? That’s not very original. _

 

A smile lit up Nicole’s entire face, starting with a dopey grin, pulling at the corners of her mouth,  and highlighting her dimple. 

 

Nicole flopped herself onto the bed, laying back and throwing her left arm behind her head for support. After rereading the line about 20 times Nicole hastily saved the phone number to her contacts. Opting to type in just “Waverly” and telling herself it was because the last name slipped her mind.

 

[Nicole]   _ Well I really didn't want to seem presumptuous. _

 

That, and she knew it was a stupid, reckless thing, giving her number to a married woman.

 

_ A married woman, you idiot! _

 

But the truth was Nicole was lonely, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt a connection like what she’d felt with this woman. Married or not. It was like her adrenaline was being put on overdrive. 

 

Still, as the minutes went by Nicole started second-guessing herself. After a while she got up, pacing around her small condo and tidying the sparsely lived in space.

 

_ It's not too late! Just tell her it’s a big misunderstanding. That she has the wrong number, or that you must have hit your head on something. Anything that doesn't make you look like a complete homewrecker - _

 

Nicole’s thoughts were interrupted by a ping.

 

Slowly, cautiously, she made her way back to her bedroom, once again grabbing her cell, and this time sitting gingerly on the side of the bed, as if any harsh movements might affect the outcome of the message.

 

She unlocked the screen and read:

 

[Waverly]   _ I'm married, Nicole.  _

 

Time seemed for freeze for a moment then. Nicole sat, unmoving, as a cold rush of embarrassment and regret washed over her. She stared at the screen, willing the words to disappear, to somehow not be the truth. But it  _ was _ the truth. Waverly was married. And who did she think she was trying to insert herself into her life. And this was all just some big stupid mistake that she should just forget about and walk away from. 

 

But there had been that touch, and that look, and that electricity. There had been _ something.  _ And in another moment of recklessness, Nicole can’t stop herself from putting herself out there one last time. Because she's not quite ready to admit this is the end of something that never started. 

 

[Nicole]   _ So you're telling me you didn't feel something?  _

 

She held her phone, staring at the white light of the screen until eventually it dimmed. And she waited, not realizing her breath had stilled while her mind raced at a million miles an hour at the myriad of responses she might receive. And she waited and waited until finally the screen went altogether black and Nicole was alone in her room, her wet hair dripping down her back, sending shivers down her spine.

 

…

 

Waverly felt her whole face go flush at the last text she received. Before she could stop herself her mind was taking her back to the moment Captain Nicole Haught looked up from her phone and met Waverly’s eyes. The feeling that washed over her was equate to the sun’s warmth hitting you for the first time, after being shrouded in clouds.

 

But Waverly wasn't ready to deal with those feelings yet, nor was she in a position to. So she did her best to push those thoughts out of her mind clicking the button on the side of her phone to shut the screen off. 

 

As she made her way to the kitchen for another cup of coffee, she saw that Jenn's gone to bed and left the TV blaring, again. Waverly sighed, turning it off on her way back to her desk.

 

After a long few hours, Waverly finally finished up her op-ed, so mentally and emotionally exhausted that she never made it to bed, ending up falling asleep on the couch, fully clothed.

 

…

 

When Waverly finally woke, it was 9:15 and Jenn had already left for work. Waverly was set to be out of town again this weekend to conduct an interview at Niagara Falls. It was perfect because Wynonna was going to be staying there for one of the cases she was working on with the RCMP and they had planned to meet up. It seemed like they could hardly make time to see each other these past few months. Partially because of the distance, but also because Jenn seemed to demand so much of Waverly’s free time, it just wasn’t worth the stress of trying to make many plans with other people. Thankfully this trip seemed to line up perfectly. Her interview was set for Friday at 3 pm so that would leave plenty of time for her and Wynonna to catch up and have a few drinks that night, with lots of time to head back to the city in the morning.

 

As she went about the house, Waverly made sure to grab enough clothes for a few different occasions, her laptop, notepad, phone charger, and whatever else she thought might come in handy for her small overnight trip. After one final review of her mental checklist Waverly sent off a quick text to Jenn letting her know she was headed to the Falls.

 

...

 

“Wynonna!”

 

Waverly lifted her arms and waved them around, hoping it would help her to be seen above the steady crowd of patrons frequenting the spot Wynonna had suggested for drinks. The pub was dimly lit and smelt like 100 year old, whiskey-soaked wood. The moment Waverly stepped in she couldn’t help smiling. It reminded her so much Shorty’s she could almost hear her Aunt Gus nagging at her from behind the counter.

 

“Baby girl!”

 

Wynonna shoved a burly looking man out of the way like he was  half her size and pulled Waverly into a giant bear hug.

 

“Hey, sis.” Waverly let herself fold into her older sister’s embrace, suddenly realizing how much she’d missed her and how hard the last year had been. Waverly held on tight, letting her fingers curl into the back of Wynonna’s oversized coat.

 

“You okay, Waves? What did she do this time?” Wynonna moved to pull out of the hug, gently placing her hands on the smaller woman’s shoulders and ducking her head to look into her younger sister’s eyes.

 

And before she knew it there were tears and Wynonna was ushering them to a quiet booth in the back room and ordering them double shots of whiskey with beers for chasers.

 

“I just don’t know what else I can do, Wy. I’ve tried to address things with her and it just explodes in my face! She can’t seem to acknowledge how she’s hurting me or that she’s ever even in the wrong. I’ve been trying to set boundaries but then she accuses me of keeping secrets! I am starting to feel so hopeless. I’ve suggested counselling and she just tells me to go by myself and that I’m the one with a problem.”

 

Waverly let out an exasperated sigh, looking down at the mostly full beer in her hand. Both the doubles had been for Wynonna, although the conversation itself was fairly sobering.

 

“Baby girl, I am so sorry. I really didn’t know when you were marrying her that Jenn was going to end up being such a complete asswipe. Come back to Purgatory! The RCMPs always looking for new recruits. I’m sure they could use your journalism skills for something…”

 

Hearing the concern and sympathy in Wynonna’s words, Waverly began to feel tears forming once again in the corners of her eyes. Before she knew it empty glasses were being pushed aside and her hands were being enveloped by her older sister’s. 

 

“If Jenn can’t treat you right, then she doesn’t deserve you. Why don’t you guys at least take a break for a while? I know Chrissy Nedley would be more than happy to have you while you figure things out. Hell, why don’t you stay out here an extra night with me? The Mounties have me set up at a pretty nice apartment this week and I’d love to get to see you for longer than a few hours here. I’ll be out at work during the day but you have all your work stuff with you. It might be a good time to figure out a game plan.”

 

Waverly didn’t have to think long about her sister’s offer before accepting. It was clear that something needed to change and being at home right now wasn’t really a good place for her. She needed somewhere neutral to sort out her thoughts and feelings and decide what then next best step would be.

 

“Yeah, okay. I think that’s probably a good idea. Thanks, Wy.”

 

Waverly pulled out her phone and sent Jenn another message, letting her know that everything is fine but that she’d be staying an extra night out of town.

 

As soon as the message was sent Wynonna raised her glass which Waverly met with a clink, finally feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time that things could start looking up. One way or another.

 

…

 

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

 

Nicole groaned, rolling over and hitting the silence button of her alarm clock and reading the digital display: 4:30 AM.

 

Her first flight was at 6:37 AM, which meant she had to be at the airport in about an hour. Not a bad start time, but she was almost certain she hadn’t slept at all that night. She couldn’t get the idea of Waverly out of her head.

 

_ Stupid, stupid, stupid. You’re just gunna have to get over it. This is just a girl we’re talking about here, not Amelia freaking Earhart or the motherfucking Joan of Arc. It’s gunna be okay. _

 

Nicole pulled herself out of bed and into the kitchen, putting on an extra strong pot of coffee before stepping in the shower to try and wash away the stiffness of a sleepless night spent tossing and turning.

 

…

 

Nicole’s workday went quickly. With 4 back-to-back flights she barely had time to breathe, let alone think. So when she finally landed in Montreal she couldn’t really care less that it was going to be another night in a different city full of strangers. All she wanted was to get to her hotel where she could find the lounge and have a quiet drink.

 

After figuring out which hotel she’d be staying at and flagging down a very French cab driver, Nicole finally made it to the cozy hotel bar and got herself a nice glass of the house red.

 

“Freddy, you better not be giving out my good cab sav!”

 

Nicole turned to see a tall brunette with a thick French accent walking over to the bar and realized she was talking to the older bartender behind the counter.

 

“Don't mind Cal, she thinks she owns the place.”

 

Nicole watched as the woman lifted the bar counter to get to the other side and dawned a black apron, playfully scolding the other bartender in a rich, joual French before switching to English to allow Nicole into the conversation.

 

“I really should, for all the years I've covered for your ass.”

 

The older man smirked before removing his apron and heading to the door.

 

“Merci, Calli! I owe you one. Have a good night ladies!”

 

As he pushed open the heavy back door a brief gust of cool night air rushed in, washing over the two women who were now alone in the quit pub.

Nicole sat quietly, savouring the last bit of her glass, too tired to realize the brunette had made her way over to where she sat at the opposite side of the bar.

 

“Looks like you could use a refill. On the house?”

 

She pulled her eyes up from the drink, meeting the brunette’s eyes for the first time since she’d walked in. Deep and blue and twinkling, despite the darkness of the room.

 

“Actually I was planning to switch to beer after this. Whatever you have on tap would be great.” Nicole took the last sip of her drink before handing over the empty glass. “Thanks,” she added, with a small smile. Probably the first one she’d had for a while if she was honest with herself.

 

The women conversed casually for the next hour. Mostly just small talk, but it felt comfortable. To a degree, Nicole figured it was her job to keep the customers occupied with mindless banter. However, the occasional flirting was not missed by the redhead and was definitely something above and beyond the job description. Not that Nicole minded. It had been a long time since she’d enjoyed a light conversation with someone.

 

Their conversation slowly tapered off at the end of the night, as Calli finished doing the final closing tasks.

 

“Well, I supposed this is it. Would you walk me to my car?”

 

Nicole wasn’t about to turn the lady down, so she nodded, slipping off the stool and offering the crook of her arm to the slender brunette.

 

As they approached her vehicle, Calli leaned up against Nicole, pushing her against the side of the blue Atlanta and delivering a small teasing kiss and inviting Nicole to carry on their evening back at her place.

 

The night had been nice, and Calli seemed sweet and sexy. Which is why it made absolutely no sense that Nicole politely declined, making up some feeble excuse about an early morning despite the already late hour and heading back to her room alone. 

 

Still, that didn't stop Calli from leaving Nicole with her number, just in case she changed her mind for the next time she was in town. 

 

…

 

Waverly tossed and turned, rolling over to check the hotel’s digital clock for the millionth time that night. It was Saturday, and her last night before she headed back into the city to tell Jenn she was leaving her.

 

To an extent, Waverly felt bad about how things had gone, but she also felt like she had exhausted every avenue to try and keep things from getting to this point.

 

And yet here they were.

 

Things had gotten so bad she and Wynonna felt they needed to come up with a solid plan on how Waverly was going to approach Jenn regarding their break. At the end of the day both women agreed her meeting with Jenn should happen in a public space to ensure Waverly’s safety. It made her stomach turn at the thought.

 

Waverly sat up in bed and turned the little side lamp on, acknowledging to herself that she probably wasn’t going to end up getting to sleep until she could calm her thoughts. And although she was having trouble settling her mind, she realized that most of what she felt - her fears, anxieties, and general nerves - were all in regards to the actual conversation that was going to have to take place and not what would actually come afterwards.

 

When Waverly thought to what life outside of her current situation looked like, she felt brave, calm, and confident. She knew she could finally start to heal from all of the psychological torment Jenn had put her through.

 

Pulling out her phone and opening up her list of text conversations she noticed a new message from her sister.

 

[Wynonna]   _ I checked with chrissy and she said you can stay as long as you like. good luck baby girl I’m here for you. _

 

Waverly sent back a thumbs up emoji and exited out of the conversation. She was about to shut her phone off for the night when she spotted the message chain with Nicole from a few nights back. She let her eyes hover over her name for a moment, catching herself thinking about the redhead once again, and before she could overthink it she clicked into it and began rereading their brief interaction.

 

[Nicole]   _ So you're telling me you didn't feel something? _

 

Waverly stared at the question, asking herself the same thing and wondering how long before she wouldn't feel guilty for being honest with herself. Things with Jenn were coming to an end. No. Truthfully, things with Jenn had been over for a long time. 

 

She hesitated for another moment before she typed out her message and sent it off. 

  
[Waverly]   _ I never said that. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! As always your feedback is very much appreciated and if you have suggestions, who knows? I might even be able to work it in.
> 
> Next chapter might be a week away depending on how this weekend goes.
> 
> Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things happen. Things maybe start looking a little better for our ladies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Without further ado!

The chimes jingled noisily, drawing Waverly’s attention to someone walking through the front door of the cafe.

 

It wasn’t Jenn.

 

She sat nervously in a small table at the back of the small coffee shop down the street from her place.

 

Well, soon to be Jenn’s place.

 

It was Sunday evening and Waverly had gone straight to the cafe upon returning to the city. It had taken her a good hour of working up her courage before she finally pulled it together and called Jenn, asking her to meet so they could talk.

 

Jenn sounded immediately argumentative over the phone despite not even knowing what the conversation was going to entail.

 

Waverly’s plan was simple. Calmly go over the behaviour that she’d tried to address in the past and explain that she needs a break. And, depending on Jenn’s response it might be just a break or it might be over.

 

Waverly sipped her tea, not wanting the caffeine from a coffee to make her more edgy than she already was, and tried not to look visibly anxious.

 

The chimes rang out again and this time when Waverly looked up it was Jenn. She scanned the room almost aggressively before her eyes found Waverly and she took long quick strides to make it to the small table. She hadn’t even sat down before she starting talking.

 

“I was wondering how long you were going to sit here before you called me.”

 

“What?” Waverly asked, more than a bit confused.

 

“You. Sitting here. I saw you got back into the city over an hour ago and you didn’t say anything.”

 

Waverly stood, waiting until the blonde woman sat before allowing herself to sit back down. She was not about to let Jenn have the upper hand in this conversation. After they had both sat for a moment Waverly was the first to speak.

 

“Jenn. What are you talking about?” 

 

“Your phone. I put a tracker on it so I don’t have to second guess when you’re lying to me.”

 

“You… wait. What?! You did  _ what??”  _ Waverly hissed through her teeth, trying to keep her voice down as the room began to spin around her. Surely she must have misunderstood. 

 

“Yeah. Last time you were out super late and told me it was work related. Yeah right. So I put a tracker on your phone.” 

 

Jenn sat there, in uncomfortable silence, her eyes appeared hard and unfeeling, staring at Waverly unapologetically.

 

“I can’t believe you did that,” was all Waverly could get out for a moment. 

 

She thought back to that night. Her interviewee had been over an hour late and they ended up going over more material than they’d originally planned. The meeting was scheduled to go until 7, but had lead up until 9 pm. When she’d gotten home Jenn had lost it on her. The sad thing is that it happened so often, that Waverly hadn’t even considered that fight any more memorable than other times. Apparently it had been memorable to Jenn, though. Suddenly, the anxious feeling that had perhaps been tied to guilt had melted away and left her with a justified anger.

 

“You had no right - Absolutely no right to do that.”

 

“I had every right. You are my WIFE, Waverly.” Jenn slammed her fist down on the small table as she said the word ‘wife’ and caused several eyes to travel over to the small back table where they were sitting.

 

“No. That does not give you the right to track my location without my consent.” Waverly’s voice was calm, even, and tempered now. She kept eye contact, willing Jenn to say something that would stop her from what was about to come next.

 

“You need me, Waverly. You’re nothing without me. Don’t you get that?” Jenn almost smiled at the question. “You’re so pathetic. Why do you think things have gotten this way? You’re the one fucking everything up in this relationship. And look at us now. We have everything and you’re about to throw it all away.” Jenn leaned over the table and tilted Waverly’s chin up, brushing her lips against her as she whispered, “You love me,” and pulling her up into a domineering kiss.

 

Waverly reared back, shoving Jenn away as much as she could, and pushing her chair back and away from the table. The legs scraping across the floor drew attention from some of the other customers, but neither women noticed.

 

“No! Get the fuck off me! I can’t believe you- you’d- I can’t be a part of this anymore!” Waverly’s voice cracked with desperate anger. “This- this- this dynamic. It’s horrible and cruel and completely fucked up. This possessive, controlling behaviour. I’ve tried so hard to ignore it, to address it, or just put up with it but it’s destroying me. This isn’t okay, Jenn! I.. I - I’m done!”

 

There were tears in the corners of her eyes now and she’d put her hands in her lap so her shaking would be hidden by the table between them.

 

“So fucking stupid. No one is ever going to love you the way I did.”

 

And at that, Jenn stood, bearing her teeth in what could only be classified as a cruel smile, before turning to slip out the door.

 

And finally, alone in the corner of that little cafe, it was finally over. With a million thoughts running through Waverly’s mind, tears finally spilling, there was one thing that stood out above all the others:

 

_ It’s finally over. _

 

…

 

Nicole stared at her phone. It was something she did a lot these days. The last week and a half, to be precise. 

 

She was sitting at the airport in the Captain’s Lounge, where she’d arrived an extra hour before a larger flight and she was going over the route. Well, she was supposed to be.

 

Nicole set her phone down, then immediately picked it up again.

 

[Waverly]   _ I never said that. _

 

She released a pent up sigh and set it down again.

 

_ What am I supposed to say to that? “Cool”?? What the hell. _

 

At first Nicole thought she should just wait for a follow up text from Waverly, assuming she must have something more to add. A question or a statement, or...something. But nothing came. And Nicole was having trouble wrapping her head around the whole encounter at this point.

 

The same thoughts had been circling around in her head for the ten days and Nicole was starting to feel unnerved.

 

Nicole checked her watch, noting that she should probably head to boarding in a few minutes.

 

_ Don’t overthink it, Haught. _

 

[Nicole]   _ Cool :) _

 

_ God fucking damnit! You idiot! _

 

Nicole rushed to try and add something remotely competent or at least worthy of a response.

 

[Nicole]   _ Uh, so what’s new? _

 

_ Oh god, somebody stop this. _

 

She stared for a minute at the two subpar texts floating around in cyberspace, and cringed as she imagined what Waverly might think as she read them. Then she forced the thought out of her mind and shoved the phone into the breast pocket of her jacket as she headed to the gate.

 

…

 

The last week and a half had been stressful to say the least.

 

Immediately after the cafe, Waverly had checked into a hotel, not wanting the tracker to signal her plan to stay with Chrissy, and had gotten it wiped professionally the following morning to ensure the tracker was removed.

 

Grabbing her phone now, Waverly smiled down at the two texts she’d received from Nicole just a few hours ago, as she made her way over to the tattered up old couch.

 

Living in Chrissy’s basement wasn’t exactly something she wanted to do any longer than necessary, even though it had been nice to spend so much time with a friend after Jenn had kept her isolated for so long. So after a few days of recovering from the events of the breakup, she’d hastily wrapped up her current work projects so she could focus on finding a new place as soon as possible.

 

Thankfully it had only taken a few days before Waverly found a nice apartment much farther from the centre of town and close to a cozy bookstore, a local coffee shop she’d never been before, and in a neighbourhood where gorgeous, overgrown maples lined the streets.

 

Not only that, but the apartment was currently vacant so she was able to sign into the contract with an early move-in date. Which meant only two more weeks and she would officially be able to start into the new chapter of her life. 

 

Looking back over the condensed series of events, Waverly could hardly believe that within a month, her whole life will have been completely uprooted. Yet somehow things seemed to be coming together and she was confident that after some adjustment she was going to land on her feet.

 

She read the texts one more time before deciding she’d reply.

 

[Waverly]   _ not much :) _

 

Waverly reread the text, wondering how honest she really wanted to be about her situation. On one hand she hardly knew this woman and surely she didn’t owe her any explanations. On the other hand, she couldn’t help thinking she should be upfront about her situation.

 

[Waverly]  _ well, that’s not exactly true. Do you want to get together for coffee sometime? I just found this great new spot. _

 

…

 

Nicole sat calmly with both hands wrapped around her coffee mug, allowing the heat to transfer to her cool fingers.

 

The coffee shop Waverly had asked to meet at was small, quaint, cozy, and inviting. The walls were lined with old, well-loved books, and the shelves provided privacy and a great place to hide away with a warm drink. Nicole opted to sit near one of the windows closer to the front entrance so she could watch the passers-by as she waited for the small brunette.

 

It was difficult not to let nervous energy overtake her as she wondered what Waverly had in mind to discuss tonight. Maybe it was naive of Nicole to think meeting her a second time would be anything but trouble. Yet she couldn’t help but agree to the exact time and place Waverly had mentioned, unable to ignore her burning desire to know more about the woman she could not get out of her head.

 

Suddenly the shop door burst open, and a very tiny figure carrying an armful of notebooks, papers, and a laptop case bustled through, and hurriedly made her way over to Nicole’s table, dropping the majority of her stack onto the table.

 

“Oh good, you’re here!” Waverly didn’t even look over at Nicole before she began digging through her laptop case, pushing around endless amounts of paper and cords and began speaking in rapid succession.

 

“So, I don’t know if I mentioned it, but I do op-ed pieces-”

 

“No, you hadn’t.” Nicole had pulled back from the table a bit to give Waverly space for whatever it was she was trying to do.

 

“-well I was thinking, I mean I don’t know, because you’re a pilot and I had this idea and I just thought that maybe I could interview you for this next piece I’m working on-” 

 

“Um…what?” Nicole wasn’t sure what was going on but Waverly continued to push papers around distractedly, possibly searching for something.

 

“You know, as like, a pilot, and what you’re thoughts are on…Aha!” Waverly pulled her hand out of the bag, a small tape recorder in her grip, and set it on the table, clicking the red “Record” button.

 

“What are your thoughts on drones!”

 

Waverly almost yelled the question and Nicole could hardly keep up to what had just transpired in the last 30 seconds.

“What? You...you wanted to interview me?”

 

“Yeah! You know… about drones! And how that’s going to affect the airline industry!”

 

Nicole was quiet for a minute and when she didn’t immediately answer, Waverly finally looked up from her chaotic pile of papers and the recorder and met Nicole’s eyes for the first time that night.

 

“Oh god, this was a totally stupid idea, wasn’t it? What was I thinking? That I could just waltz in here and put you on the spot and...and-”

 

“Hey,” Nicole reached out and covered Waverly’s hand with her own. “It’s okay. Really. I don’t mind. I just didn’t know, that’s all.” 

 

Nicole saw Waverly’s eyes drop to their joined hands and quickly withdrew her own, feeling unnerved over how comfortable she felt around this woman she hardly knew. A woman she had no business having feelings over.

 

She leaned back, trying to diffuse the last of the tension between them and picked up her coffee mug. “Ask me whatever you want to ask. And I’ll do my best to give you a good answer.”

 

Waverly smiled tentatively before reaching for the recorder and switching the device off.

 

A few beats of silence followed.

 

“I left Jenn.”

 

Nicole nearly spit the mouthful of coffee back into her mug, completely taken aback by the new information. She swallowed hastily, ignoring the burning sensation down her throat.

 

“Sorry, what?”

 

“It’s kind of a long story. Probably one for another night. But I just thought you should know. I… I wanted you to know. Things are a little up in the air for me right now.” Waverly began fiddling with the corner of one of her papers. “That’s really why I wanted to meet with you today. I just thought with the texting. And before anything...I don’t know. I just wanted you to know where I’m at right now.”

 

Nicole moved a little closer to the table and gave Waverly the most reassuring smile she could muster. It was all she could do to hold back her sympathy, concern, curiosity, and million other emotions from making her completely transparent.

 

“I don’t mind long stories. And I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”


End file.
